Tata to supply Dornier airframes to RUAG

The Dornier 228NG.

India’s Tata Advanced Systems Limited (TASL) is to supply the aero-structure of the Dornier 228NG to the Swiss company RUAG.

RUAG’s Regional Sales Director Wolfgang Kofen told StratPost at the Dubai Airshow 2015 held earlier this month that the Indian company was to supply 08 airframes for the new NG variant of the aircraft which would then be sold to customers.

Kofen said, “We expect deliver of the first airframe in the January-February time-frame.”

The Dornier 228 has so far been constructed solely by the Indian-government owned Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL). HAL will be supplying the last four of the airframes to RUAG to meet their to meet their delivery schedule. RUAG will integrate the engines, avionics and other systems to complete the aircraft for delivery.

The Dornier 228 NG is an upgraded version of the aircraft built by HAL and RUAG expects demand for the aircraft to require around 55 airframes.

TASL had announced its tie-up with RUAG for the supply of the Dornier 288 NG fuselage and wings in June 2014.

TASL also signed an agreement with US aviation major Boeing at the Dubai Airshow to set up a joint venture for the manufacture of the airframe of the Apache AH-64E attack helicopter at a facility at Hyderabad in India.

TASL is also partnering with Airbus to bid for an order to replace the Avro fleet of the Indian Air Force (IAF) with an assembly line for the C-295 aircraft in India, which awaits government approval.

Kofen told StratPost it has already received orders for five of the NG model aircraft. Two of the customers are understood to be Japan and the British possession of Guernsey in the Channel Islands. Interestingly, while Japan and India have been negotiating the sale of the ShinMaywa US-2i amphibious aircraft to India, an India-built airframe will be supplied to Japan.